Update 28th April 2017: Well, that didn’t last long. Kevin Bacon has announced via Instagram (see below) that his planned take on Tremors has been not been picked up for a full series by SyFy. Whether the pilot will see the light of day is still unknown.

Original story: Kevin Bacon’s Tremors TV pilot looks set to go to series with an 8-episode order, with Fred Ward returning as Earl Bassett for the first time since 1996’s Tremors 2: Aftershocks.

It was in August 2017 that we last heard anything substantial about the latest TV outing for Tremors, a franchise that has now split into two factions as Michael Gross continues to lead a series of direct-to-DVD film sequels and 13-part TV series (Tremors 6: A Cold Day in Hell hits streaming in a few weeks time) as survivalist Burt Gummer, while Bacon’s reboot ignores everything after the 1990 original, his character of Val McKee still battling Graboids in Perfection, Nevada.

In a tweet from director Richard Clark (Outlander, Doctor Who), he appeared to confirm that the pilot is going to series: “Universal shooting 8-part TV Tremors this summer with Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward! I’m begging to direct! Scripts a lot of fun.”

While Ward was rumoured to part of the pilot, this is the first word that he’ll be back alongside Bacon and the giant worms. Universal and SyFy have yet to confirm the news.

According to the synopsis for the pilot TV movie written by Andrew Miller, “the killer Graboid worms that nearly destroyed Perfection, NV, 25 years ago are back, and the town’s only hope for survival is Valentine McKee (Bacon), who beat them once. But to do it again he’ll have to overcome age, alcohol and a delusional hero complex.”

It’s believed that Miller will also serve as showrunner on the SyFy series alongside executive producers Kevin Bacon, David Schiff and Jessica Rhoades.